Gryphon (Species)
Gryphons '(グリフォン, ''Gurifon) are magical beasts found within Earth Land that are half feline and half avian, oftentimes a hybrid of an eagle and lion, two animals considered the king of the sky and land respectively. This has lead to the gryphon being named as The Monarch of Beasts '(獣の君主, ''Kemono no Kunshu). Appearance The gryphon is almost always seen as a large beast with the head, wings and fore legs of a bald eagle, with the hind legs and tail of a lion. However, due to cross breeding, the gryphon can be found in a large variety of appearance, with smaller cat and sparrow hybrids being a result of breeding gryphons to the point that they are fit to be pets. natural crossbreeding with different felines has led to the appearance of gryphons who are part leopard, cheetah, tiger, puma, etc instead of lion. The same can be said of the bird half, which can be found in a variety of predatory birds. Its cousin the hippogryph is much like the gryphon, with the lion half being horse instead, and on rare occasions, a hippogryph will have antlers. This beast suffers from the same fate of cross breeding, with varieties on its equine half being more common. The alce and opinicus gryphons too are quite similar to its cousin, with the beast either lacking wings (Alce) or having lion fore legs instead (Opinicus). Magic and Abilities '''Wind Magic: '''While the potential to use Wind Magic is possessed by most gryphons, the only ones who can use it are patriarchs or bonded gryphons as it seems that only those recognised as leaders or have the magic brought out by their partner have access to it. this is one of the largest mysteries surrounding the species, with no living individual being able to discover the truth. Gryphons utilise Wind Magic by flapping their wings or by screeching, with the blasts of wind from their attacks being powerful enough to uproot trees. '''Enhanced Strength: '''Gryphons are insanely strong, being on par with the likes of wyverns. their power comes from their strong claws and beaks, as the gripping power of a gryphon allows it to remain unmovable when gripping prey in its talons. Its beak has great ripping power, being able to tear through flesh, rock and even scales with ease, with the exception of wyvern scales, which are much tougher and harder to tear through. '''Enhanced Speed: '''All gryphons, regardless of size, are incredibly fast in the air and on land, depending on the species. Opinicus Gryphons are the fastest on land with their lion paws, while other gryphons are slower due to the difficulty most gryphons have with running, as their claws and paws are not compatible. In the air, all winged gryphons are tied, with the patriarchs of each species and bonded gryphons being much faster due to their use of Wind Magic. '''Bonding: '''For some reason, gryphons possess the ability to form strong bonds with human beings, through the process of bonding. Many theorise that this is a result of remnants of magic left over after the creation of gryphons, as most sources stipulate that gryphons are instead artificial beings, created by the fusion of animals as a result of an experiment. '''Flight: '''Most gryphons possess the power of flight, with the Opinicus Gryphon being the only species who cannot as they possess no wings. Sub-species '''Hippogryph: '''Hippogryphs are gryphons with the hind legs of a horse instead of a lion. They can also, on occasion, sport antlers, though this is a trait limited to patriarchs of the hippogryph species, as the antlers symbolise strength and authority. '''Alce Gryphon: '''A small species of gryphons that do not possess wings at all and have no magic power at all, unlike the more powerful gryphon, opinicus gryphon and hippogryph. '''Opinicus Gryphon: '''A species of gryphon that is mostly lion, as it has the fore and hind legs of a gryphon, as well as sporting a longer neck and shorter tail. Trivia *There are multiple ways of spelling gryphon, but I chose the one I liked best so... yeah.